Celebrating the Power of the Resurrection this Easter

Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.

My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.

I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.

Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.

Well, we're going to take the next few moments to discuss a topic and the topic is the results of the resurrection.

Why does this even matter?

Why do we come here on Sunday mornings?

Why do we come here on this Resurrection Sunday and celebrate?

Well, the Bible tells us that we have a reason to celebrate.

The Bible says that we have wonderful things that we can praise God for in our life.

And it's not just about the here and now, but for eternity.

In the book of First Corinthians.

If you have your Bibles, you can turn there with me.

First Corinthians, chapter 15.

It tells us what we have in the resurrection.

If you are a believer here this morning, the Bible says that there are many things that we possess because of the resurrection.

Now before we go any further, we need to understand what the resurrection is.

You've heard here at our church that we are celebrating the resurrection here this weekend.

This has been our resurrection weekend.

And we've had different events and different things pointing to that word resurrection.

But what are we talking about when we talk about the word resurrection specifically in the context of the Bible?

Well, we're talking about the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Most of you know the story.

Jesus lived on this earth for around 33 years.

And the Bible says that he knew no sin, meaning he did not sin one time.

And he did not come to destroy the law as some people think, but he came to, as the Bible says, fulfill the law.

What that means is basically Jesus came and lived a life that none of us could live.

We might try to be good people, we might try to be honorable people, good citizens, so to speak.

But the Bible says that there is none good.

No, not one except for Jesus Christ says that he came to this earth and and the earth and the people that lived on the earth rejected him.

And the Bible says that Jesus came and lived that perfect life and he was crucified because of who he was.

People didn't like what Jesus was teaching.

Jesus was teaching something different than what the religious leaders of that day were teaching.

Jesus was teaching a relationship with God, not a works based salvation.

He was preaching that, hey, you must know God, you must personally understand him.

And have faith in him.

And Jesus came and preached and the people didn't like that.

And so they rejected him and put him on a cross.

And Jesus willingly gave himself for us.

We've been singing about that here this weekend that, that he went to the cross and, and on the cross he took physical pain, no doubt about that.

The Bible says that he was scourged.

The Bible says that he had a crown of thorns upon his head.

The Bible says that he was nailed to the cross.

A great, great affliction, excruciating pain.

But the Bible also says that Jesus Christ took the sin of you, took the sin of me upon him.

The Bible says he who knew no sin became sin for us.

Romans chapter 5, verse 8.

But God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ knowingly went to the cross because he loves us even though we are sinners, even though that we fall short.

God says, I still love you enough to send my only begotten son for you.

So Jesus dies on the cross.

Shortly after that, what happens is Jesus is put into a tomb.

A fellow named Joseph of Arimathea has a tomb and he takes Jesus along with a fellow named Nicodemus.

And they put Jesus in a tomb.

And his disciples were scared, his disciples were fearful.

His disciples were in, in question, in doubt, and actually were in hiding.

But the Bible says that three days later on that Sunday morning, the same type of Sunday that we have here today, on the sunrise of that day, the followers come to the tomb and Jesus is no longer there.

And the Bible says that the same power that rose Jesus from the dead is the same power that's living in with believers today.

And so Jesus was raised from the dead.

And we saw that here in this dramatic interpretation of that.

And, and Jesus's resurrection is a bodily resurrection.

It demonstrates the power of God.

It demonstrates God's all powerful nature.

Who do we know in this world that can conquer death?

There's some individuals that are trying to conquer death through living really healthy lives.

I, I, I've seen videos of these fellows that are trying to live for 150 years by trying to reanalyze their genetics and try to get it all where they can live just maybe 40, 50 years longer than the average person.

The truth is, is that eventually there will be an end.

And the Bible says the only person who can conquer death, the only person that can extend everlasting life is Jesus Christ.

And so we have the demonstration of God's power in the resurrection and we see that God conquers death through the resurrection.

And so why is that so important?

It's so important because it shows us that God keeps His word in, in Jesus's teachings to his disciples.

He said many times that he would come to Jerusalem, that he would be crucified on a cross, and then that he would conquer death through the resurrection.

Mark, chapter 8, verse 31, says.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man, that's Jesus, must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and the killed.

And after three days rise again.

Another chapter over in Mark, chapter nine.

Mark, chapter nine, verse 31.

Again, Jesus teaches his disciples that he would need to go to the cross, but he would conquer death through the resurrection.

Says that the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men and they shall kill him.

And after that he is killed, he shall rise.

The third day again in Mark, chapter 10.

So we see Mark, chapter 8, Mark, chapter 9, Mark, chapter 10.

Jesus teaches that he would resurrect.

Mark, chapter 10, verse number 34 says, and they shall mock him and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him and shall kill him.

In the third day he shall rise again.

And so why is the resurrection important?

Number one, Jesus.

Jesus claimed to be the one who could conquer death.

And he told his disciples that he would resurrect.

And therefore he kept his word.

And I want to tell you this morning that God keeps His word no matter what we do.

God keeps his word.

No, no matter how crazy this world gets, God keeps His word.

The Bible says that he will never leave us nor forsake us.

That means he will keep his word.

The Bible says that he loves us.

He keeps his word.

He demonstrates his love towards us.

And so the resurrection is important that way.

But it also gives us hope.

It gives us victory.

It gives us the understanding that we're living for more than just this world.

I don't know if any of you maybe have struggled with the idea of this.

Is this it?

Is this it?

In life, these, these 70, 80, 90, maybe 100 years, is this it?

And sometimes, if we look at it from that perspective, just go to work every day.

And I'm just trying to work and work and work until I can get to retirement, then I'm retired, and then eventually I'll do what I want to do.

But the folk.

Folks, folks, the truth is this.

If we are living for this world, we are.

We are not living for the right thing.

It does not satisfy.

It is not sufficient, as the Bible says.

And so the Bible says that we have to live for something more.

We have to live for the eternal.

And so what we're going to see here this morning in First Corinthians, chapter 15 are the results of the resurrection.

Says here in verse number one of First Corinthians, chapter 15, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel.

Now, what's the Gospel?

The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ that he came to this earth, that he lived that perfect life, that he died on the cross, and that he conquered death of the resurrection.

So, so Paul says here, in this case, the Apostle Paul says, hey, I have been declaring unto you the good news, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received.

And so he's speaking to folks who have received the Gospel.

And by the way, I think that it's a biblical thing to teach that we must receive the gospel and believe the gospel.

And this morning, unapologetically, I'm going to be proclaiming to you that it's a necessity for you to believe the gospel, to trust in the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ.

It says here in First Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 1, he says, this is what you have received and wherein ye stand.

So it's one thing to receive the word of God.

It's one thing to believe the word of God.

It's another thing to stand in the word of God in confidence.

He says, verse 2, by which also ye are saved.

The Gospel is what saves us.

The Gospel is what extends everlasting life to us.

Says, if you keep in memory what I preach unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

And so Paul here in First Corinthians, chapter 15, speaks of vanity or emptiness.

And then he speaks the substance and belief.

And the truth is this morning that all of us in this room and watching online, we're either in two camps.

We're either living our life in vanity and emptiness and hopelessness, or we're living our life in substance and faith in Jesus Christ.

And so it says here in verse three, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received.

And then he's about to explain what this gospel message is, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

He always ends this statement with according to the Scriptures because he wants to point back to the truth that God keeps his word, that God is fulfilling the truth of Jesus Christ in the Gospel, that the truth of the Messiah, the truth of everlasting life.

And so he says, okay, I Preach unto you the fact that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was a buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

And so I want you to see number one here, the very first point on the back of your bulletin.

The first result of the resurrection is what we call conversion.

Conversion, or another word we could use is salvation.

We would not have salvation outside of the resurrection.

Why is that the case?

Because there have been a lot of religious leaders that have come through this world that have promised a lot of things, but they've never kept their word.

They've never fulfilled the ultimate promise of conquering death and giving hope and giving substance.

I'm going to tell you here this morning, the tomb is empty.

That's why we're celebrating.

Jesus said that he would conquer death, and he did so.

And so therefore, this morning we have hope in Jesus Christ.

And it goes on to say in verse 14, and if Christ be not risen, if there isn't a resurrection, says, then are preaching vain.

What I'm doing today would be vain if Jesus did not conquer death through the resurrection.

Now, some of you might think today, I don't know what your background is.

I don't know if you're.

You're a churchgoing person.

I don't know if you're here just because, hey, it's Easter Sunday and I got to be there.

I don't know if a family member took you here, which is a good thing.

But I'm going to tell you here, this, this morning, you might think, hey, this guy up here preaching, he's preaching in vain.

I'm going to tell you, the Bible says because of the resurrection, this preaching is not in vain.

And what we can see here this morning is it says that your faith, if, if there is no resurrection, verse 14, and your faith is also vain, everything that we do would be empty, worthless if there's not a resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Everything hangs in the balance when it comes to the resurrection.

And so we would not have salvation.

We would not have everlasting life.

We would not have forgiveness.

By the way, salvation is forgiveness.

The Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

All have sinned, you say, well, I.

You don't know me.

I'm not a sinner.

The Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, you might be a good quote, unquote, good person, better than my neighbor.

The Bible says that none of us can be perfect.

And so it says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

And what does the Bible say about sin?

It says, for the wages of sin is death.

Now, some of you might say, by the way, before you go any farther, what is sin?

What is sin?

Sin is literally.

It means missing the mark of God.

God has a perfect plan.

He has a perfect way.

He has a perfect word.

The Scriptures tell us that this is what we should follow.

And the Bible says that when we sin, we miss the mark of God's plan.

We disobey, we reject him.

We feed our flesh.

We.

We do what our body wants to do.

We.

We do all those things that make us feel good.

And we put ourselves before him.

That is sin.

And so the Bible says that sin, the wages of sin or the payment of sin is death.

Death.

Not just physical death, but spiritual death, separation from God.

And the Bible says that that wage of sin is death.

But there's a second part of that verse in Romans, chapter 6, verse 23.

But the gift of God, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so our conversion, our salvation, is a gift then.

Now, does a gift have to be worked for?

No, it wouldn't be a gift then if I was to say, as you guys head on out today, I have.

I have at the door envelopes for every single one of you.

In that envelope is $20,000.

Some of you are like, wow, I'm gonna start coming to this church more often.

We.

This is a hypothetical situation.

Well, let's say we had $20,000 for everyone back there.

As you head on out and you walk back there and, okay, who's up first?

And.

And you know, mister.

Mr.

So and so walks up there and he says, okay, I want My.

My $20,000.

And we say, okay, what are you going to do?

What are you going to do for the church?

Now?

You got to start working.

You got to work 20 hours a week.

You got to work 200 hours this year.

You got to do this, got to do that.

Folks, at that point in time, it's no longer a gift.

It's something that I have to earn.

The Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith.

And that not of yourselves.

It is a gift of God, not of works.

Lest any man should boast, the Bible says that salvation is because of the victory of Jesus Christ through his life, through his death, and through his resurrection.

So without the resurrection, we would not have conversion, we would not have salvation.

By the way, how can we find that salvation?

Is that just extended to Everybody is that extended.

Just everyone, universally.

The Bible says no.

The Bible says that is a gift of God that must be received in faith.

For by grace are you saved.

God's grace.

Grace is a gift given to us that we don't deserve.

For by grace are you saved through faith.

Faith is believing.

Faith is trusting.

Faith is not looking at all of the situation and saying, well, what can I do?

What do I have to do?

Faith is saying, I can't do anything.

I'm trusting that God will do it for me.

Every other religion in the world, every other religion in the world teaches what you have to do to get to some point of salvation, some point of peace, some point of satisfaction.

And I'm going to tell you that biblical Christianity, the faith that we are talking about here this morning, has nothing to do with what I do.

Because I can't work my way.

I can't do enough.

You might not know me that well, but I'm going to tell you, if you get to know me, you're going to realize that I cannot do what I need to do.

I am not enough.

And I think if we're all honest this morning, all of us would agree that we are not enough.

But the Bible says that our type of faith is trusting in a work of somebody else.

Well, whose work are we trusting in?

We're trusting in Jesus's work on the cross.

We're trusting in Jesus's work in the resurrection.

And so without the resurrection, we would not have conversion.

So the result of the resurrection, number one, is our conversion, our salvation, and that's tied to the good news of Jesus Christ.

But then number two, I want you to see that we would not have change without the resurrection.

Another way that we could say this is we would not have transformation.

The Bible says in Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17, that we are new creations in Christ, that we are new creatures.

We are transformed.

The Bible talks about Romans chapter 12, verse 2, that we are transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Folks, when we come to Christ in our conversion, in our salvation, in faith, he changes us.

He transforms us into a new creation, a new creature.

The word transformation there In Romans chapter 12 speaks of a word that we use in our language called metamorphosis.

And of course, you know, maybe metamorphosis.

I know my kids like to study that.

When there's a little caterpillar that crawls up on a branch, creates a chrysalis, and then in a short amount of time comes out and looks totally different.

That's Transformation.

And the Bible says that at the moment of our salvation, we begin that process of growth.

But at that moment of salvation, we have that transformation.

We are changed.

We are no longer our own.

We are bought with a price.

The Bible says that God paid the price in his son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation.

And so what does that mean for me?

That means this.

I am no longer bound by the sin that I am in.

The Bible likens our sin and our brokenness and our pain to shackles.

And the truth is, is that before we come to Christ, we are bound by that.

There's nothing else we can do other than being set in that sin, set in that brokenness, set in that emptiness, set in that hopelessness.

But what the Bible tells us is that the moment of salvation, those chains are broken.

We are no longer under the bondage of sin, but we are under the bondage of grace.

And therefore we have an opportunity to have a changed life.

Romans chapter 8, verse 1 says an amazing thing.

An amazing thing.

Romans, chapter 8, verse 1 says, there is therefore now no condemnation, no judgment to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

We go on to see In Romans chapter 8, verse 11, something amazing.

It says, but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken or make alive your mortal bodies by the Spirit that dwelleth in you.

What does that mean?

The transformation is not that I become, hey, I'm a.

I'm a better person now because look at me, I look different.

The transformation is an inward transformation, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

If you are a believer this morning, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ and faith, if you've received that gift of salvation, the Bible says that we had the Holy Spirit living within us, making us different, changing us, giving us new desires, giving us new hopes, giving us new dreams, giving us a new purpose.

Some people are looking for a purpose in this world, folks.

If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you have your purpose to glorify him in everything that you do.

And so we have our conversion or our salvation.

We have our change or our transformation.

But I want you to see number three.

Here we have confidence.

Confidence or assurance.

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I struggle with is confidence.

I wake up in the morning and I think, you know what?

I'm not enough.

I don't know if I can do this.

Fear grips me.

Maybe I'm the Only one that has that struggle.

But the truth is, is that when we have Jesus Christ, when we know what the resurrection brings us, it brings us assurance and confidence.

Look at First Corinthians, chapter 15.

We're going to go all the way to the end of the chapter, all the way to the end.

We started at the beginning.

We looked at Paul saying, this is the gospel, and if without the resurrection, everything's in vain.

And then he goes and he talks about verse number 55.

He talks about death.

Now some of you might say, why are we talking about death on resurrection Sunday?

Because the resurrection brings confidence over death.

Verse 55, First Corinthians, chapter 15.

O death, where is thy sting?

O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death is sin.

If we're based in our sin, that's the sting of death.

And the strength of sin is the law, meaning, hey, you know what the only reality is, is that if we are based in the law alone, if we're based in our works alone, we are going to find ourselves empty, broken.

But verse 57.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, we're get again.

This is in the context of the resurrection.

He says, because of the resurrection, we have the victory in Jesus Christ.

Verse 58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

And so we have that confidence.

The Bible says in Philippians chapter one, verse six.

Another amazing thing, this is something that we as a family tried to claim as our confidence.

Philippians, chapter one, verse six.

It says this being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

And so my confidence as a Christian is not in myself.

My confidence as a Christian is not in the church building.

The confidence of a Christian is not in my government.

It's not in my work.

It's not in my health.

My only confidence is in Jesus Christ to know that I'm living for something more.

If someone took away everything in my life, great.

Guess what?

I still have Jesus Christ.

I still have my salvation.

I still have my eternal focus.

I still have my eternal destination.

And so the Bible says that heaven is that eternal destination and eternal life with him.

So we have conversion, change and confidence.

Some of us have our confidence in all of the wrong things.

That word confidence just means with faith.

It's.

It's a Latin word.

Con, meaning with fide.

Meaning faith.

Confidence.

Having faith.

Where is our confidence here this morning?

It's easy to get distracted, let me tell you.

It's easy to get distracted.

But what I would say this morning is let's realign ourselves to what is the only object of faith that is worth it.

Let's say, for example, I had two chairs up here.

One chair looks.

I made.

Let's say I made the chair, okay?

Now, some of you might say, well, he might be a great woodworker.

I am not.

I do not work well with my hands at all.

If I put a chair together, it would fall, it would break.

And so let's say the chair I made's over here, and it's all rickety and wobbly and doesn't look very secure, right?

And then we have a chair over here, and let's say someone in our church who is a great woodworker, great carpenter, has it together, and it's stable, it's sturdy.

And.

And I was standing over by that chair, and.

And.

And our, you know, resident carpenter was standing over by this chair.

And I said to you guys, which.

Which chair do you trust?

If you were wise, you would sit in the chair that looks sturdy, right?

The one who could hold you up, the one who could handle your weight, the one who could handle, you know, maybe the.

The luggage that you're bringing with you that you don't want to set down.

And the truth is, is that if you came to my chair, why would that be a bad choice?

Because the object of that faith that you're placing your faith in cannot hold you up.

And the same thing happens for us in our own lives.

We have confidence in the wrong things, and we expect those things to hold us up, the wrong objects of faith.

But when we look at the only object of faith that can hold us up, that's Jesus Christ, the sure foundation.

We know that he can hold us up no matter what.

And that's our confidence.

Our confidence is knowing that he is enough for us.

He can fill in all the gaps.

He takes us all the way to the end, he being confident.

This very thing which starts a good work and you will finish it or perform it to the day of Jesus Christ.

So we have confidence.

So we have our conversion, our change, our confidence.

But I want you to see another one here, because this is a beautiful thing.

One of the results of the resurrection would be the comfort.

Comfort.

Look at 2 Corinthians, chapter one with me.

2 Corinthians, chapter one, verse number three.

It says something Very interesting here that, that as a believer in Christ, as someone who is trusted in the gift of grace, we all receive the comfort of God.

And it says there's a purpose for that comfort of God.

Verse 3, it says, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.

That's one of my favorite names of God, the God of all comfort.

And in our world today, we are seeking after comfort.

But again you're seeing a theme.

We're seeking after the wrong comfort.

We want the nicest bed, we want the nicest car, we want the nicest clothes.

We think that that's going to give us the comfort that we need.

But the Bible says that it is only God who is the God of all comfort, verse four, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, all of our struggles, all of our trials, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble.

So, so the Bible actually tells us the purpose of God's comfort in our life.

Number one, to comfort us because he loves us.

But number two, so that we can comfort others as they are going through trials.

So we are vessels of God to extend that comfort to every everyone else.

So, so we see there it says we are to comfort those that are in any trouble by with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

For as the suffering of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

Meaning as we are identified with Christ, we understand that Christ suffered, we understand that we will suffer.

But ultimately, together as a body, as a group of believers, we receive the comfort of God and we point other people to that comfort as well.

And so we have conversion, change, confidence, comfort.

And then you say, well, how do we comfort people?

How can I comfort somebody?

Well, it's okay, I've been there before.

Well, that's okay.

Or, or maybe you can say, you ever, ever told someone this, hey, it's going to be okay.

And they looked at you and they're like, I don't believe that.

Because you remember when you're going through a struggle, sometimes someone comes alongside of you and goes, it's going to be okay.

It's all going to work out.

And you're like, well, it's easy for you to say so, so, so what do we point to for the comfort?

I want you to see 1st Thessalonians, 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 13.

This is how we comfort other people.

Ultimately, ultimately, this is how we comfort other people.

The spirit of Our comfort would be coming from this passage right here.

Number one.

Because Jesus Christ has conquered death through the resurrection.

And we are identified with Christ in the resurrection and in our faith.

The Bible says that we too have the hope of the resurrection as well.

We too will have glorified bodies one day.

We too will have presence with God.

And so it says in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 says, But I would not have you to be ignorant.

Those are some strong words.

All ignorant means is just.

You don't know, you're unaware.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep.

And that doesn't mean sleeping, that means being passed away.

It was a term that they use for that says that you sorrow not.

He says that you.

That you.

You don't have to have the sorrow like other people have in their life.

Because it says we have hope even as others which have no hope.

Meaning this.

When someone dies in this world and they have no hope in Jesus Christ, that is the end.

But we as believers have a greater hope that we will see them again.

We know where they go.

And he says, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep or that are dead in Jesus, meaning they died and they were believers, will God bring with him.

Meaning there's going to be that eternal relationship absent with the body present with the Lord.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

Okay?

So he says, hey, we're not going to go before them.

They're going to come before us.

Verse 16.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God.

And the dead in Christ shall rise first.

So those that have gone before us will rise and have glorified bodies.

We too will will be arise and have glorified bodies.

Verse 17.

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then he says this.

This is why we're here.

This is the point wherefore comfort one another with these words.

He says, what do we comfort each other with?

The hope of eternity?

The hope of being with our Savior one day.

So I don't come alongside of you and go, well, things are going to get better.

What if they don't get better?

Because the truth is, is that your life might have struggles and problems And I don't have the power to promise you that that's going to be taken.

You.

The only thing that I can tell you is the truth of Jesus Christ, that, hey, we're living for something more.

One day you will be with your Savior.

One day we will be without sin.

One day we'll be without pain.

One day we'll be without death.

And so what we're dealing with now is not the here.

And the here and now was not eternity.

This is not our focus.

And so the way that we comfort each other is the eternal hope in Jesus Christ.

Like, hey, look, we're living for something more.

You're going to be with your Savior one day.

You're going to be reunited with your loved ones one day, going to be with him and see him face to face.

And so we have the comfort of God.

How do we comfort people?

We comfort people by pointing them to Christ.

We comfort them by pointing them to His Word.

We comfort them by pointing them to his will.

And with that comes the last result of the resurrection.

That is the challenge.

The challenge.

Go back with Matthew, Matthew, chapter 28.

We started there dealing with the resurrection, and we will finish there.

Matthew, chapter 28.

At the.

At the very end of Matthew, chapter 28, Jesus, he has returned and he has revealed himself to his disciples.

And right before he ascends into heaven, he gives a challenge to his disciples.

We call it the Great Commission.

He charges them with a job, and that is this.

He says at the very end, verse number 18.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations or make disciples.

Thou of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever.

I commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.

What does Jesus say here?

He says, if you have received the comfort, if you have received the salvation, if you have received the forgiveness, if you have received everlasting life, your job is not done yet.

You've got a ticket to heaven.

Yes, but now the opportunity is to serve him and to proclaim him and to tell others the beautiful truth of the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

We all have a challenge.

If you are a believer here this morning, you have a challenge.

It's not just for pastors.

It's not just for people that are.

We would call in the ministry the challenge for the Great Commission.

The challenge to tell people about Jesus is to all believers.

And so if you are a believer here this morning, you need to take up the challenge along with many other believers in many, many different centuries and say, you know what?

I want to proclaim the message.

We talked about it this morning in our sunrise service.

You think about that small number of people that understood the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It was his inner circle initially.

I think about how much that inner circle, those originally it was 11, plus some fringe people there at that time.

Think about how many people have been multiplied and added to the family of God over the centuries.

And think about the impact of just that small group of people.

Why did they have that impact?

We saw that in the drama this morning.

We saw the lady passing it down to her family.

The.

The truth of what Jesus Christ meant to her.

The reason why they were able to change, the reason why they're able to impact, the reason why, why they were able to reach people for the cause of the gospel was because Jesus was real to them.

The resurrection was real to them.

You could not convince them another way.

They knew that Jesus conquered death.

They saw it with their own eyes.

And I'm going to tell you this morning, you can see it with your own eyes right here in the word of God.

The same power that rose Jesus from the dead is living within you.

Therefore, think about if every one of us in this building went out with that type of confidence, that type of compassion, that type of conviction.

Think about how many people we could reach for the gospel.

Think about how many people we could bring to the truth.

Folks, it's not about adding people to a group.

It's about adding people to the kingdom of God.

It's about extending everlasting life.

Jesus said, here, and this is where we're going to end.

Jesus said in John 11, John 11:25, a truth that I think we all need to take with us.

Okay, what does Jesus tell us here?

Well, John 11:25, Jesus is dealing with a family that's broken.

See, what family are you talking about?

Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

If you remember, Lazarus died.

And Martha believed that Jesus could have done something, but he didn't do something.

And.

And Martha is confused.

And Martha doesn't understand the bigger picture.

And.

And she says, jesus, I believe that you can bring my brother back one day.

That's what.

If you actually read the passage of Scripture, that's what she's talking about.

She doesn't.

She.

She believes that he could bring her back.

But.

But she's like, okay, one day you're gonna bring him back.

I Know in the resurrection you will.

And Jesus says something very interesting.

In verse 25, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection.

He doesn't say, he just has the power to resurrect.

Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.

He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

Jesus is saying an amazing truth here.

He says, the only way that you can find resurrection, the only way that you can find victory over death, the only way that you can have everlasting life is through him.

John 14:6.

Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

So.

So Jesus is teaching this.

He is the resurrection.

It's not a church, it's not a way of thinking.

It's not a philosophy.

It's not a membership.

It's not even what you do and how you.

Look, the Bible says the only way to find resurrection, the only way to find life, and in this context, everlasting life is through Jesus Christ.

We know that through the next.

In the next verse, he says, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Believest thou this?

Jesus says, hey, if you believe in me, you're never going to die.

And he's talking about the aspect of spirituality, your end, so to speak.

A lot of people believe that you're done, you die, and it's darkness forever.

Jesus says, hey, if you want to live on forever through that death, what does he say?

He says, believe in me.

And then he turns to her and he asks her a question.

This is.

This is the call to action.

So he doesn't just say, hey, everyone, you should all believe in Jesus.

He says this, okay, you believe in me, you'll never die.

And then he turns right to Martha and he looks at her and he says, believest thou this?

And here this morning, I want to challenge you with that.

You know, you may or may not believe when I'm preaching here this morning.

And, and my prayer for you is that this is something that's real.

My.

My prayer for you is that you can believe in Jesus Christ for your salvation.

And so what I would like to do this morning is pose that same question to you.

Jesus says, believe in him.

Believe in him and be saved.

Believe in him and have everlasting life.

And the question is, is, do you believe that?

Let's.

Let's even say Jesus is directly asking us this morning, do you believe that?

If you trust in him and him alone for salvation, do you believe in that?

For salvation?

Are you believing in something else?

All of us believe in Something just a matter of whether or not we're going to put our faith in that object that will fall eventually.

Maybe a few of you could sit in that chair for a little while and it might work, but after a while it might fall.

Or are you going to sit in that chair that's going to stand true?

Are you going to put your object.

You're going to put your faith in the object that's going to stand true for eternity, the One who always has been and always will be the God of all creation, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace.

Are we going to put our faith in the resurrection and the life?

And so I have a few reflection questions to ask you here this morning.

Have you trusted in the good news or the gospel?

We talked about the gospel.

What's the gospel?

Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

He rose again on the third day.

Do you.

Do you trust in the gospel for your salvation?

If not something you have to come to grips with, it's something that you have to reconcile in your life.

You have to put your faith in something.

Some of us put our faith in ourselves.

Some of us put our faith in things.

Some of us put our faith in.

In an institution.

The Bible says, put your faith in him and him alone.

But the second question that I would ask you here this morning is this.

Are you telling others about the good news that you received?

Maybe someone shared the good news with you a long time ago.

Praise God for that.

Maybe this is the first time you've ever heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

I don't know.

But the truth is, is that all of us have an opportunity to comfort those who need comfort.

And the only way that we can ultimately comfort people is how?

By showing them Jesus.

Are we showing other people Jesus?

Are we proclaiming Jesus to those around us or are we proclaiming ourselves?

You know what?

I'm.

I'm a nice person in my flesh until someone goes against me.

Then I'm like, all right, you're against me, I'm against you.

Okay?

We are nice people in our flesh, in our own selves, if we have it all going our way.

But the Bible says that that's not what life's about.

Life's not about having to go our way.

It's about having to go God's way.

And so there's a point in our life where we have to say, I love that person.

Not because they are lovable, but I love them because God loves them.

And I love them enough to tell them the truth.

And so the question would be this, are you telling others about the good news, or are you living a life that points people to the good news of Jesus Christ?

Or you might say that you believe in Jesus, but your life points a different direction.

So the question here this morning for all of us is, number one, do you trust in Him?

Number two, are you telling others?

Number three, does your life match up with what you say?

There have been many people over many years that have said certain things about themselves, and it's not true.

I can sit here all day and say, I'm the best father in the world.

I'm the best husband in the world.

You know who you need to ask about that?

Don't ask me, ask my family.

And the truth is, is that the way that we show our love for God is not by telling people that we love Him.

The way that we show God that we love him is by obeying him, following him, serving him, glorifying him.

And the way that we do that is through following his scriptures and following the charge, the challenge of telling other people about Jesus Christ.

So the results of the resurrection, number one, our conversion, number two, the change, number three, the confidence, number four, the comfort.

And number five, the challenge.

Because of the resurrection, we need to take up the challenge to tell others about Jesus Christ.

If you're able to with me this morning, I'm going to ask for you to stand.

We're going to have some music playing.

I'm going to have what we call an invitation or a call to action.

And.

And really, this is your chance in the next few moments to respond to that question that Jesus asked Martha so long ago.

Martha said, jesus, I know you had the power to resurrect the dead, but I'm not sure.

And Jesus says, hey, believe in me.

Believe in me and you'll never die.

Believe in me and you'll have eternal life.

And then he looks at her and he says, do you believe this?

The question would be here this morning is, do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Do you believe not just in his existence?

The people back then had no problem believing in the existence of Jesus.

All they had to do was open their eyes.

He was right there.

But that wasn't enough to save them.

And so believing that he exists is not enough.

It's believing that he exists and he is who he says he is and that he conquered death and that he alone can forgive you of your sins.

He alone can bring you comfort.

He alone can bring you peace.

He alone can bring you confidence.

He alone can bring you salvation.

It's him and him alone.

The way, the truth and the life.

I know some of you and I.

And I don't know some of you, but I'm going to tell you that God knows your heart.

God knows you in a more personal way than you can ever know.

And some of you might say, okay, I'm glad that he knows me.

And some of you might say, I, I don't want God to know my every dark secret.

The truth is, is he already knows.

And here's the blessing of that.

He still loves you.

And if he loves you in your worst, what an amazing thing it is to come to him and know him is.

Know that he can change you and that he can give you that salvation that he extends.

And so here this morning, I'm going to ask a very, very poignant question.

And I hope that you can understand that it's done in love.

But how many of you this morning, no one's looking around.

I encourage you not to look around and judge other people.

This is between you and the Lord.

How many of you?

And I want you to do this because I want to pray for you.

I've been studying the Bible recently, and the more and more I see is if I love people, I need to pray for them.

And I, I love you because Jesus tells me to love you.

And so here this morning, if you want to trust in Jesus Christ as your savior, if you, if you know that that's not what you're putting your faith in, maybe you're putting your faith in something else.

Maybe you're putting your faith in yourself.

Maybe you're putting your faith in your works or your outcome or your health or whatever it is.

If you are putting your faith in anything outside of Jesus Christ here this morning, and you want to put your faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible says, call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved.

It's, it's simple belief.

It's.

It's belief.

Turning away from that old way of doing things, turning away from my way of doing things, and turning to the way that Jesus does things.

And that is by faith alone, in grace, he saves us.

And so how many of you would just slip your hand up in the air?

I'm not going to call you out.

I'm not even going to come up and, and talk to you after the service if you don't want that, but I want to pray for you.

How many of you would say, you know what?

That's something that I would like to consider.

I would like to think about.

I, I would like to even do this morning.

I want to trust in Jesus Christ as my savior.

It's not about what you do, but it's about what you believe.

How many of you would just put your hand up in there and say, pastor, just pray for me.

I'd like to know what it means to know Jesus Christ as my personal savior.

We're going to have some people up here in a few moments.

And if you're nervous about that, if you're scared about that, folks, it's the number one decision that you can ever make.

The best decision you could ever make is trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

So here for a few moments, I'm just going to have the music play.

It's going to be silent in here outside of the music.

If you need to come forward here, if you need some help with some people, they can show you in the word of God what it means to know Jesus and to know forgiveness.

Folks, it's the greatest burden that can ever fall off of your back to know that you are no longer responsible for your own guilt, but God has taken that away through the blood of Jesus Christ.

And so here this morning, I'm going to challenge you to come forward now.

Maybe some of you, maybe some of you say, you know what?

I'm a tr.

I trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior, but I'm not proclaiming him.

I'm not living for him.

I'm not demonstrating to him the truth of Jesus Christ.

I'm not demonstrating to the others around me the love of Jesus Christ, the.

The comfort of Jesus Christ.

Hey, come forward this morning and rededicate yourself to the cause of the Gospel.

Rededicate yourself to serving him and loving him and allowing the results of the resurrection to show in your life.

Lord, I pray that you'd be in this time of invitation, working hearts and lives.

We ask all these things in Jesus name.

Amen.

Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.

I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.

You would like to find out more.

Information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates.

Thank you so much.

God bless.

Have a wonderful day.